


Odd One

by Kintatsujo



Category: Tenkuu no Escaflowne | The Vision of Escaflowne
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Headcanon, Minor Canonical Character(s), References to Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 09:23:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/796585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kintatsujo/pseuds/Kintatsujo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because Lord Dilandau was special, but he was also... different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Odd One

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the Sick Puppies song, partly because it fits and partly because I honestly couldn't figure out a title for this thing and it's been sitting on my computer for some time now.

 

 

     The Dragonslayers had always known that their lord was special, even before they were chosen to serve under him. Dilandau was legend among Zaibach's military students (nicknamed the Orphan Corps by some of the older soldiers, just because so many of them would have been on the streets otherwise). It was whispered that he'd been bred specifically for the sword, or that he had been fathered from a long line of swordsmen and adventurers. His surname, Albatou, was no clue, and they all knew it- not many of them had their original names in the Orphan Corps. All anyone really knew was that he took to the weapon naturally, and had the look of good breeding about him. Any one of the Dragonslayers themselves, having trained with him, would attest that he was among the best warriors of Zaibach, if not the very best.

     Dilandau had achieved his honor as commander at the age of fourteen. It was little surprise to anyone that his unit was assigned to Strategos Folken on board the _Vione_. Lord Dilandau was above other people.

     The Dragonslayers also had always known that their lord was... different. That he had reason to press them so hard, and that he had quite a lot to prove even on the _Vione_ , where Folken's presence acted as a protective cloak.

     Gatti, for example, still remembered vividly the time when they were both twelve, and Dilandau had rather carelessly expressed an admiration for one of the older students, calling him "beautiful." Gatti didn't think anything odd of it until one of the Sorcerers, hovering nearby, slapped Dilandau so hard that the entire mess hall went silent and watched as Dilandau was dragged out by his uniform collar.

     That evening, the twelve year old students received their first lecture about "perversion." The next day, when someone suggested that Dilandau's remark had been the trigger, Dilandau leapt on the other boy and beat his face into a pulp.

     And if his face was a little odd when he thought none of them could see him watching as they trained, or the smile he gave to Lord Folken's back a little too soft, or if it struck any of them as significant that every one of the Dragonslayers was as handsome as he was skilled, what of it? Gatti knew Dilandau was TRYING, and so did the rest of them. Some perversities ran deeper than others.

     They never spoke about when Lord Dilandau had smashed all the mirrors. It was after his confrontation with King Fanel in _Vione's_ bowels, before he'd been soothed enough that he allowed them to treat the cut along his face. Shesta had found him screaming in his quarters, a full length mirror raised high above his head before it met its untimely end against a table.

     "Wrong!!" Dilandau had screamed. "Disfigured! The bastard's changed me!" All fourteen of them had charged him, knowing the wrath they would face was nothing compared to the horrific idea that Dilandau might injure himself in his fit.

     But though their lord fought them at first, he calmed when he realized that it was his men calling his name, their arms about his torso, their hands on his shoulders. He glared, but he was calm.

     Then, after his face had been treated, he slapped Viole, almost as though it were an afterthought, and threw all the mirrors from his quarters out _Vione's_ melef bay. The lot of them silently agreed that they had got off easy.

     (Someone eventually talked him into getting at least one new mirror. Gatti suspected Folken, because Dilandau didn't really listen to anyone else.)

     But most of all, the Dragonslayers knew that Dilandau loved them. From his unforgiving expectations to his overprotectiveness. Each one of them understood that he had chosen each one of them carefully for his unit, and each one of them understood where they would be if they had not become Dragonslayers: faceless grunts in one of the main armies. Cannon fodder. Not trusted with their responsibilities and certainly not privy to the kind of curious freedom that came with being stationed on the _Vione_.

     They feared his abuse, certainly, but they feared being sent away much, much more. Dilandau brought them honor and kept them alive. And yet, with his insistence that he wouldn't tolerate this, or wouldn't tolerate that, Dilandau also never sent them away. When Miguel was killed in the dark by Folken's agent, they all knew that the doppelganger's life was forfeit.

     And when they joined Miguel later, the Dragonslayers agreed that the only person who had ever loved them needed to live. 

**Author's Note:**

> The "Orphan Corps" comes from the fact that nobody within the Zaibach military seems to question where the hell Dilandau came from, not even Folken or General Adelphos, despite the fact that he's well-established and has made such a high rank at such a young age (About fifteen, of course, according to Alan when talking about his sister.)
> 
> There seems to be some numbers confusion in the fandom. Plenty of people realize that there are fourteen Dragonslayers and one Dilandau, but there's also plenty of people who think there are fifteen Dragonslayers PLUS Dilandau, and NOT counting Jajuka. My older brother and I counted (Four eyes for better accuracy). Thirteen Dragonslayers are shown being cut down by Van, but there are fourteen Dragonslayer ghosts standing between Van and Dilandau. The man in the middle, however, appears to be Miguel, who apparently returned to his commander after all. I can't decide whether I'm a twisted freak for finding that adorable.
> 
> I have some other fics sitting around half finished that go into my feelings on Dilandau's character, and who this mixed-up back and forth Alice really is, but it's going to take me time to be truly happy with any of them. Suffice it to say that nobody seems to see the character quite the same way I do.
> 
> Final note is about "perversion" and how it's talked about in this story. My own opinions about homosexuality (and perhaps also transgender...ism) should be made quite clear when I say that I'm a bi(omni/multi)sexual woman who mostly just found Dilandau annoying until I found out he was Celena. However, I also tend to think that Zaibach's culture should be written as a reflection on the fact that it's a medieval sort of place that's very heavily influenced by Isaac Newton. Ole' Isaac believed that his religious treatises were more important work than his mathematical and scientific achievements and was also apparently quite a zealot when it came to law enforcement. Those things taken together don't bode well for anyone in Zaibach anywhere on the gender scale other than perfectly heterosexual and cisgendered.
> 
> And of course, the scientists probably thought any interest in boys on Dilandau's part was actually his "fate" destabilizing somehow. Given the way I DO see the character, that's not exactly entirely off mark.


End file.
